To Russia With Love
by sheroaredback
Summary: Auggie finally gets the go ahead for field work and is assigned to monitor equipment in a safe house in Moscow with Annie as his eyes of the operation. What happens when you're stuck in close quarters with your crush? Auggie/Annie
1. Chapter 1

Joan's stilettos struck a staccato pattern across the office and towards Auggie's office. He straightened in his chair and turned towards her in anticipation. If the pace of her footfalls were any indication of what she was about to say, it was something important. Another mission maybe. Where was Annie going this time?

"Auggie, we have a new surveillance mission on the table," Joan stopped next to his desk. The scent of vanilla perfume, spearmint and hairspray met his nose. He heard the shuffling of papers and a soft thud on his tabletop let him know she had just given him a file. "Vishnevsky and Zhuravleva, the former USSR mob bosses have resurfaced and have rekindled their old nefarious ways. We've pinpointed their headquarters to an apartment in Moscow. They're moving weapons and dealing them to all the wrong clientele,"

"Terrorist cells in the middle east? Africa? Europe?" Auggie interrupted.

"All of the above, it would seem. They're a minimal threat but a threat nonetheless. I need one of your best tech ops people to go in and manage equipment in a safe house near by and record footage of who enters and leaves headquarters. We need to know who's resurfaced and what new pawns are playing their game. We need another man monitoring from here as well. Pick your people carefully."

"A sitting duck operation?" Auggie's heart rate quickened at the thought. "Joan, I'm your man."

"Auggie, please," Joan's voice was stern but soft at the edges. He knew what was coming. "We can't risk you in the field. What if your situation was compromised and someone came for you. You wouldn't be able to defend yourself."

"Nothing like that would happen. I'd be sitting in the safe house 24/7. I would go undetected. The only thing that could possibly happen to me is dying of sheer boredom or overconsumption of macaroni and cheese." He heard another set of footsteps approaching. Grapefruit, strong coffee, a pastry—Annie was back from her Starbucks run.

"No, Auggie. That's final. You're to stay here where it's safe." Annie was paused at the door, listening he guessed.

"Joan, I could do this," Auggie argued further. "This is an easy mission, a trainee could fulfill this work. I'm experienced in the field and could defend myself. My lack of eyesight hasn't left me completely unable to do this work." He tried to maintain and even tone, the lilt in his voice that let everyone know he was still lighthearted Auggie, but he could feel an edge coming through with every word. He could do this if he was only given the chance. And if this mission was completed successfully, he wouldn't be a desk jockey anymore. Not entirely anyway.

"Auggie," Joan's voice was the tiniest bit weary and a little strained. He could tell she was about to say something he wasn't going to like. "You would be the best man for the job otherwise, overqualified for this work even, but eyesight is imperative here. I'm sorry," her voice faded lightly at the end. She hated having to make these decisions as much as he did.

"My eyes are perfectly fine," Annie spoke up. Auggie had almost forgot she was standing in the background for a moment. She took a step forward and Joe Malone's grapefruit filled his nose. Something in his stomach seemed to take life and started swimming. The tension in the conversation was suddenly tangible.

"Annie, it's been settled, there will be no further discussion—"

"Why couldn't Annie accompany me?" Auggie would have never been so bold as to interrupt or overstep his boundries with his superior like this, but he couldn't help himself.

"Auggie," Joan was irritated, he could feel the hammer about to come down.

"No, really. Annie has eyes. Great ones. I hear they're a lovely chocolate brown color actually," Auggie's words spilled out of his mouth in a quick fashion and grin pulled at the corners of his mouth. A mission with Annie. This would be perfect.

"I could keep an eye out for any fish activity and keep both of us safe. This mission would go off without a hitch," Annie's voice was a little strained, her fear of Joan's response was palpable. Auggie decided to do what he did best and lighten the mood.

"And Joan, think of it this way. My hounding you for field work would stop, I'll promise to stop sneaking out onto the field,"

"Oh Auggie," Joan said. There was something resigned in her voice, the tiniest hint of defeat.

"We'll bring you back a lovely souvenir!" The grin Auggie had been fighting took over his face. "A lovely matryoshka doll perhaps. Or some fine vodka."

"Fine," Joan said. Auggie's smile threatened to split his face. "Here are the debriefing folders and all the necessary paperwork. Your plane tickets will be delivered to you before you leave work today. Your flight is tomorrow at 5 AM. The safe house has already been supplied with everything you need, equipment and otherwise," she paused for a brief moment. "Be careful what you wish for Auggie, you may very well perish from macaroni and cheese overconsumption," Auggie and Annie laughed out loud. "This isn't your average mission, Annie." Joan said addressing his new partner in justice. "You're in a for a very long week." And with that final word, Joan spun on her heels and strutted out of the office.

"I can't believe that just happened," Auggie's was ecstatic and stood up to greet Annie. She rocketed herself into his arms and hugged him fiercely. As he squeezed her back, the swimming monster in his stomach did a couple of somersaults. "This calls for a celebration. Let's ditch the coffee and hit the bar tonight for a couple of drinks!"

"Not too many!" he could hear the smile in Annie's voice. "We have an early flight tomorrow! Actually I should go home and pack and prepare another Smithsonian business trip lie for my sister," she looped his arm through hers and they began to walk. "How about a ride home?"

"That would be perfect," Auggie smiled in response. 'This will be perfect,' he thought. Annie laughed as they strolled towards the parking garage. Grapefruit filled his nose again and the monster in his stomach swam a lap.

Joan watched them go from her office. A knowing smile spread across her lips as she watched Annie and Auggie leave the department arm and arm.


	2. Chapter 2

Annie's taxicab pulled up in the alleyway behind the safe house. She thanked her driver in Russian and slipped in the back door of the building only after the cabbie had gone around the corner. She walked gingerly up the stairs with her suitcase in hand. Annie reached the top floor of the building and walked down the hallway to the apartment directed in her mission instructions. The lock jammed for a moment and she had to fiddle with the doorknob before she got in.

The apartment was as she expected. The walls were standard white and the air was stale from a lack of circulation. The curtains were yellowed and drawn, giving the room a pale gold glow in the late afternoon sun. A worn wooden table and chairs near the kitchen looked as if it had been in use for a decade or two and a table on the far wall was covered in dated computer equipment. In another corner of the room two mattresses were stacked on top of each other to serve as a bed. Crisp white linens covered the low resting place and one long body pillow was propped against the wall. The sand colored carpet gave under Annie's feet and allowed her to pad silently into the room. Annie shut and locked the door behind her and set her suitcase by a table covered in computer paraphernalia. She took in the room and decided to use the bathroom.

'Auggie should have been here by now,' Annie thought as she walked down a narrow hallway towards the restroom. 'I haven't been contacted about a delay in his travel plans. What's going on?' she thought to herself. The bathroom door stood ajar and the faucet was dripping as if it hadn't been turned off completely. From her vantage point she could see a bathmat on the floor was slightly askew. The hair on the back of Annie's neck prickled. Something was wrong.

She turned quietly on her heel and made to move towards the main room. A closet caught the corner of her eye. She paused and held her breath. The faintest noise sounded on the other side of the door. Annie quietly backed up against the wall and braced herself for what she was sure to be enemy impact. She reached for the door and flung it open. A tall man leapt out and tackled her to the ground.

This was no enemy. His messy hair and sweater vest instantly let her know it was her partner. He grunted in her ear as she struggled against him and pinned her wrists above her head in one deft move.

"Auggie!" Annie choked out. Auggie's breath hitched in her ear.

"Annie?" His voice seemed higher than normal and strained.

"Yes, who did you think it was?" she said exasperatedly.

"The doorknob jiggled like someone was trying to pick the lock and there were no grapefruit!" his words were tangled together. Annie's brain only comprehended the last part of the sentence. She stopped trying to get out from under him and stared at him incredulously.

"Grapefruit, Auggie?"

"Your perfume! It's grapefruit with lime top notes and sometimes there's a hint of rosemary-based soap on your skin! And it usually washes over a room when you walk into it and I couldn't smell anything but mothballs and mildew and—" he couldn't catch his breath. He slid off of her and laid on his back staring into oblivion. "I-I ran to hide in the closet because you weren't here yet and I didn't, I didn't want—" Annie interrupted.

"Auggie! Hey, Auggie," Annie rolled over onto her hip and placed a hand on Auggie's chest. "It's alright,"

"No, it's not alright," he said slowly, his brow furrowed.

"Auggie, come on. I snuck up on you. I should have announced myself. Or smelled like normal," Annie couldn't help but chuckle at the end. Auggie's lips twitched.

"Yes, how inconsiderate of you to smell differently than you normally do. Really, Annie, how rude." he said sarcastically.

"I don't wear perfume when I travel," she explained with a grin. "I read in a magazine once that it can irritate sensitive passengers on the plane,"

"That's considerate of you," Auggie half smiled, still staring at the ceiling. His brow was still knit with worry and something else Annie couldn't put her finger on. He was behaving so differently from anytime she had seen him before. His shoulders were tense and his jaw seemed to be clenched the slightest bit.

"Here, let me help you," Annie stood and put her hand in Auggie's. She pulled him from the ground.

"Thanks," he said, his left palm resting on the hallway wall. "Do you think you could check the bathroom for my laser cane? I dropped it when I heard the door, " he said, a shade of embarrassment coloring his words.

"Sure," Annie said brightly, trying to make Auggie feel more comfortable. He didn't turn to smile at her, but gingerly felt his way to the main room, his palms resting on the wall to guide him. Annie turned and went into the bathroom, picking his cane from its resting position near the tub, and then followed Auggie.

'He deconstructed the scent of my perfume. Lime top notes? And rosemary soap?' she thought of the small travel sized bar of rosemary soap in her luggage. 'Auggie has one hell of a sense of smell,' Annie thought to herself.

Auggie had found his way to the computer table and had started the system of machines up. The screens flickered to life as he moved his hands around the desk, feeling out where everything was.

"Annie, could you get my Braille keyboard from my suitcase please?" Auggie asked. She noticed a suitcase on the other side of the front door she had overlooked and unzipped it. The keyboard was lying on top of neatly folded clothes. Annie noticed a small stack of boxer briefs in several colors. She blushed and looked away. Annie plugged in the keyboard for Auggie and watched as he sat down and started to get things running. His fingers flew over the keyboard as he worked.

"And now," he said with a few more taps, "everything should be set up. Excellent," he pushed his chair back from where he was sitting and stood up again. His voice was light again, laughing almost like it usually was, but there was something strained below the surface. Annie frowned. This wasn't normal Auggie.

"I'm hungry," he said suddenly, feeling the tension in the air. "What do you think the CIA put in here for us to eat?"

Annie turned her attention from Auggie's disposition and moved into the kitchen, opening the first cupboard near the refrigerator. She couldn't help but laugh out loud. The bottom three shelves were packed tightly with macaroni and cheese.

"Auggie," she giggled. "There are tons of boxes of Macaroni and Cheese in here," Auggie smiled genuinely for a moment, remembering his conversation with Joan.

"Would you mind making some?" he asked.

"Not at all. I'm starved too." Auggie turned and headed over towards the bed. Annie filled a pot she located with water and set it on the stove and began preparations for their dinner. She paused for a moment to look at her partner. He had slumped against the wall and his unseeing eyes were fixed on the ceiling. Annie bit her lip. What she wouldn't give to know what was going on his head and how she could make things right again.

AN: It's a little short, I'm sorry! It was my birthday yesterday and I haven't had time to write!


End file.
